


Soulmates

by Lezzles



Series: Soulmates [1]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: F/M, Reincarnation, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2014-03-03
Packaged: 2018-01-04 16:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1083177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lezzles/pseuds/Lezzles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two halves of the same soul joining together again and again for life's journey.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mike and Emma

**Author's Note:**

> An AU novella featuring Tom Branson, Sybil Crawley and other incarnations of them
> 
> Downton Abbey and the characters who live there belong to Julian Fellowes and ITV
> 
> I'm just borrowing some of the characters for a little while and adding a few of my own to write this story
> 
> I am not making any money from this; it's just to freeshare with my ff friends.
> 
> …
> 
> AN: A HUGE thank you to LadyDunla for beta reading, and generally correcting this work. Any remaining mistakes are mine!
> 
> Please review and let me know what you think. All constructive criticism is welcomed as the only way to improve is to take on board other people's comments. I hope you will enjoy the reading journey as much as I am enjoying the writing one.

 

* * *

...

The only reason that Mike went to the party which changed his life, was because his flatmate, Stu, had insisted. All he had wanted to do was to go down to the pub, watch the footie on the plasma screen, and get quietly drunk.

It had been one hell of a week at work. He worked as a computer tech at a large online retail company and  _everybody_  seemed to be having problems that week. He had had viruses and malware and network conflicts coming out of his ears! He had worked overtime every night since Monday and by the time he'd got to Saturday, which incidentally should have been a day off, he was ready for some quiet downtime after work.

But then Stu had reminded him about the party and that he'd promised to accompany him. Stu was quite a shy person, and Mike knew that he wouldn't go alone, so he had sighed and resigned himself to loud conversation and even louder music. Maybe he could get a drink and then hide in a corner, he had thought.

But the corner had been occupied already by another reluctant guest, and as they had quietly conversed and commiserated with each other, he had realised that actually he was very glad to be there, because the other reluctant guest was a dark haired beauty named Emma, with beguiling eyes, a sexily husky voice and a wicked sense of humour.

A few hours later the two of them had realised that both of the friends they had separately accompanied to the party had become very busy with other people, and so Mike and Emma had quietly slipped away to Emma's flat, where they had discovered that their bodies enjoyed each other's company every bit as much as their minds had done. The moment they had kissed, Mike had felt like he was finally 'home' after years of searching. For the first time the words of  _Savage Garden's_  'I knew I loved you before I met you' made perfect sense to him and no longer sounded cheesy and predictable.

That night had changed everything for them both, and from that point on in their separate lives, they had become totally inseparable. Within a year they were living together, planning their wedding and looking forward to a united future. Their whole existence together had seemed to be perfect and charmed. Neither of them had ever had any doubts of a long assured future, and on their wedding day barely eighteen months after they had met, they declared a total commitment to each other for eternity.

On that day, though, they had not had any idea of what that eternity actually meant, and it would be another little while before they did eventually find out.

They had continued to enjoy a happy, carefree life for another couple of years after their wedding, finding a delightful old cottage which they had fixed up together, affording it on their modest wages by doing most of the work themselves. Mike had enjoyed turning his time to painting and plumbing, building something of their own, instead of spending his off time watching sport, drinking and socialising down the pub. He was perfectly complimented by Emma in this as well as with all other aspects of their lives. Emma was a nurse and a very practical person,  _but_  she was also extremely creative, and combining the two meant that she could turn her hand to sewing and crafting beautiful accessories, which turned their small house into a home.

They had it all: the company of another being perfectly in tune with each other, a delightful home they had created together and the icing on the cake came when Emma fell pregnant.

But then six months into the pregnancy, their charmed existence started to show a few cracks as Mike began to have disturbing dreams. Dreams which would eventually lead Emma and Mike to discover the true meaning of 'eternity'

…

 


	2. Flashing and Foreboding

* * *

...

Mike awoke with a jump. His heart was racing and his body was sweating in reaction to the sights and sounds of his latest dream. This dream, like the ones before, again featured himself and Emma, but the settings were strange places, where, to his recollection, they had never been. They were them… and yet not them. Whatever the time and place they seemed to be in, however, one thing was constant: Emma always appeared to be pregnant.

He felt his wife moving restlessly beside him and willed himself to lie still despite the anxiety in his body. Emma was now seven and a half months into her pregnancy, and although perfectly healthy and seemingly unaffected by the usual problems of being in that state, she did get very tired and needed her sleep.

He wasn't even sure  _why_  he felt so anxious from the dreams. There was nothing actually threatening or frightening in them; they were just so strange. The fact that Emma had gone through her pregnancy thus far with so little to complain of, apart from an occasional incidence of morning sickness in the very early stages, made the incidence of the dreams even harder to fathom. If she had been ill with it, he could have said his mind had conjured them from his fears. But she hadn't been, she was fine; so why were they playing in his mind night after night? And what did they mean?

They had started a couple of weeks before, and at first he had experienced tiny snapshots and flashes, which felt like he was watching an old silent film where many of the frames had deteriorated and disappeared. But each night… each dream… had shown him more and more clarity and he could now make out clear images and sounds.

He was seeing flashes of lives of a couple; a couple who looked just like them, within the constraints of the strange costume and hair styles. The clothes they wore appeared ancient, like they were dressed for a costume party. Two of the languages they were speaking were also totally archaic, but featured a few understandable words half remembered from his schooldays. It was very, very strange to recognise his own and Emma's voices, but speaking words which were alien and unrecognisable. There were other sounds in the dreams too; none of which tallied with the noises of the 21st Century. It was downright confusing!

He seemed to be observing many different time periods and settings. Most had remained as confusing flashes, but at least three were appearing more frequently and with more detail. The oldest setting of these three appeared to be Ancient Roman or possibly Greek. He was leaning more to Roman because the clothes the man who had his face wore were very similar to his perception of a Roman soldier's attire. Also the language, although not understandable in many ways, had the occasional Italian words interspersed. He had studied Italian at school, and used it in family holidays. His parents loved Italy and the majority of their family holidays had been spent there. He didn't know Latin, but felt that this language was a likely assumption from what he was hearing.

The second period looked to be Tudor England. The clothes, furniture and language all seemed to indicate this. He felt like he was watching a Shakespearian play, except of course he was part of it. He heard Emma's voice addressing him with strange Old English words, but the name she was using was certainly not Mike.

The third time period was the easiest to understand, as it seemed to be much more recent, probably within the past hundred years. It was definitely England with some recognisable landscape looking like Yorkshire. The language was easy to understand as well, much more modern, although rather formal. The name Emma used for him here sounded like Tom.

So no, the dreams weren't threatening, but their incidence was starting to be. He was tired out because he never got a full night's sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes, along came the dreams. As he saw more and more, he was getting more and more confused, and they always woke him up, and seemed to make it impossible to go back to sleep as his mind raced with what he had seen. With a sigh he resigned himself to another exhausting day and gently slid away from Emma's body and out of the bed. He was becoming restless from trying to stay still, and tossing and turning, trying to go back to sleep would only disturb his wife and make her exhausted as well.

…

Downstairs in the kitchen he made himself some tea and sat at the counter sipping it and wondering what to do. It was four am, and he was up at this time for the sixth day in a row. If he didn't do something soon he would be unfit for anything, including work, and they needed the money with the baby coming and Emma only getting maternity pay. He knew she was starting to be concerned about him, and becoming upset when he told her nothing was wrong. From the moment they had met, they had never kept any secrets from the other. They discussed everything. Was it really a viable option, however, to share the incidence and content of these dreams with her? He was worried enough for the both of them. Was it really fair to make her worry too, considering her condition? Perhaps he should try going to talk to the doctor, though what he could do, Mike wasn't sure.

The decision whether to tell Emma or not was taken from Mike's hands when she appeared in the doorway and asked for some tea.

"Darling, you should still be asleep. I'm sorry if I disturbed you. Go back to bed and I'll bring some tea up to you."

"Mike, stop it! Tell me what's wrong. This isn't the first time you've been up at this time. I thought if I let you think on it for a while you'd let me in, but it's going on and on, and you're dead on your feet most of the time. Talk to me, Babe. We could always talk. I'm pregnant, not suddenly incapable of coping with any problems we have. We promised each other we would always face everything together."

"I don't want you to worry."

"I'm more worried not knowing what's going on! Is there something going wrong with your job? Can we not really afford this baby anymore?"

"No, darling, it's nothing like that. Although if I can't work through this we may have money issues if I am sick from work. Statutory Sick Pay isn't going to go far. I was just thinking maybe I should go see the doctor."

"But what is it? Why can't you sleep? What are you so worried about?"

Mike looked at her beloved beautiful face creased with concern for him, and gave a resigned sigh. "I'm having dreams."

"Dreams? What kind of dreams?"

"Weird, strange dreams. About us, but not  _us_. Our faces, our bodies, but in places and times far removed from now."

"Well, that's just silly. Why are you letting them affect you? It's just your imagination… You know how vivid that is."

"Em, don't just discount this." Despite himself, Mike was starting to get a little angry with her easy dismissal of his fears. "Dreams always have a meaning. I really believe that."

Her voice softened as she realised how much she had just upset him. "I'm sorry, I know you believe that. But I really think it's just your imagination. It doesn't really make much sense, does it?"

He sighed. "I know it doesn't. But whether there is a meaning or not, I have to do something about them. They keep waking me up and then I can't get back to sleep."

"Then, I'll make an appointment for you with Doctor James. Perhaps if you talk them out with him it will make them stop; maybe he heard of something like this before. It's probably just hidden fears about the baby. Or maybe he can give you something to help you sleep."

Mike nodded, "OK. That'd be good. Thanks, Darling. I didn't want to worry you with this."

"We're in this together, Mike. Always have been, always will be."

He nodded again. "I love you, Emma."

"I love you too. Now d'you think you could get a bit more sleep? There's still a couple of hours before you need to get up."

"You know, I think I could. I feel better now we've talked." She held out her hand to him and they returned to bed together.

…

Despite feeling better, however, Mike woke again an hour or so later, in a similar state to earlier, but this time also feeling downright terrified. He had dreamed again, but this dream was like a slide-show of a series of still photographs capturing the same moment taken in period after period with a looping soundtrack. What he had seen were images of the different versions of his wife, with their faces slack with death; and what he had heard were babies crying and his voice shouting in agony, the different speech patterns counterpointing each other. The English words spoken in an Irish brogue were the loudest and they sent a chill through him…

"Come on breathe, Love, just breathe… It's me, my darling, just breathe... Help her!... Please don't leave me… Please don't …"

…


	3. Tomasso Antonius and Julianna

* * *

...

After the terrifying images in his last dream, Mike was desperate to understand them. Although he didn't really hold out much hope that Doctor James would be able to help him, he was anxious and worried enough that he went along to the appointment that Emma made the next day after work. As he expected, the doctor discounted any deeper meaning to the dreams than his overactive imagination, but did, however, run through all details the surgery had of the progress of Emma's pregnancy so far, to 'set his mind at rest', as he put it.

The doctor also suggested that Mike try to take time off work to attend Emma's pre-natal appointments at the hospital with her, which Mike thought was a good idea. In the meantime he said it was obvious that he needed proper sleep and gave him a prescription for some sleeping pills. Despite his reservations, Mike knew he needed to get some sleep and so he filled the prescription straight away and that night he took two of the pills before he settled to sleep.

"Goodnight, Darling. I hope they help and you get a good night's sleep, with  _no_  dreams, sweet or otherwise." Emma smiled at him and kissed him sweetly before settling into her usual sleep position in his arms, with her head pillowed on his chest.

"Night." He was still apprehensive and slightly frightened, however, and found himself still lying awake for a while, before he finally succumbed to the pull of the pills.

Not long after he dropped asleep, his eyes started racing under his eyelids, and he started to dream. Disjointed flashes again, random happy and sorrow filled moments running quickly past. His body was fighting to wake, but the drugs wouldn't allow it. His restlessness pulled Emma from sleep and she watched his racing lids and was going to try to wake him despite his need for sleep, when he suddenly quietened and stilled and seemed to drop into a much deeper, calmer sleep. She smiled to herself, glad she had encouraged the doctor's visit and happy that her husband was finally getting the dreamless and restful sleep he needed. She placed a light kiss on his forehead and settled back into his arms.

But Mike was not getting a dreamless sleep at all. The pills had pulled him into a deep sleep where he now inhabited his dream world. He  _was_  the Roman soldier who looked just like him, and despite the strange language, he could now understand it and everything that was happening. Peripherally his modern mind thought objects he was seeing and using and actions he was carrying out seemed very strange indeed, yet to the person he now was it was all perfectly natural and mundane.

…

_**Vercovicium** _ _**(located on Hadrian's Wall) Roman Britain AD 198** _

_Tomasso Antonius Tacitus was riding like the wind to the home of the lady he loved. The father of his lady, Julianna Marciana, was a wealthy merchant who had been made a Roman citizen and she herself was a lady of birth. Her father wanted her to marry well, and because of Tomasso's profession, he had discouraged their friendship. However, Tomasso and Julianna knew it wasn't just a friendship. They loved each other and never wanted to be apart. They had even whispered together of running away, but knew this would be extremely dangerous and difficult. Tomasso would have to desert the army and faced painful execution if he was caught._

_Joyfully, the news just received from Rome could change everything for them. Emperor_ _Lucius Septimius Severus Augustus had decreed that Roman soldiers below the rank of Legionnaire could now marry. The law had been passed in AD 193, but the message had taken five long years to get to them. The truth was that Tomasso could actually have courted Julianna properly from their meeting two years before, if the Roman news had only reached them sooner._

_Now, though, he was free to ask for an audience with her father and formally request her hand in marriage. He may not be a Legionnaire, but he_ _**was** _ _a free Roman citizen of the Equestrian Class and a Decurion, commander of one of the three squadrons of cavalrymen with the First Cohort of Tungrians. As such he was a suitable suitor, and he was sure the only objection her father really had was that he was forbidden under Roman Law to marry until he was released from his twenty-five years with the army._

_Besides this fact, there really were not that many appropriate suitors to be had in that remote area. To find a better husband for her, Julius Marcianus would have to send her or even take her to a more major centre like Londinium or even to Rome itself. Sending her alone would be quite a dangerous undertaking, as she had no brother or other male relative to accompany her, and if Julius himself went with her, his business would suffer without him at the helm._

_This gave Tomasso hope of a favourable audience, and it was with nervous anticipation that on reaching the Marcianus Villa, south of the fort, he handed his horse off to a slave and strode to the entrance to request his meeting_ _._ _He was asked to wait in the outer chamber by a servant, who then went to see his master and discover if he would agree to see him._

_Tomasso paced around the chamber, impatient to discover if he would be welcomed by Julius, but as time slipped by, he sighed and took a seat by the open window and looked down on the valley at the wild country surrounding the settlement. It could be cold and very bleak, but he could not deny the magnificent beauty of it, and in the summer it was glorious. His mind drifted back to the first time he had seen Julianna in that very valley as she walked with her servant to her villa, picking flowers and singing in her beautiful husky voice._

_To be truthful, he had heard her before he'd seen her, and ordering his men to continue to the fort, had turned his horse to follow the singing which had seemed to call out to him. The first sight of her had taken his very breath, she was so beautiful. She had a slender yet curvaceous figure, and a mane of gorgeous long black hair. As he drew closer, she looked up and he saw gleaming green/blue eyes gazing fearlessly at him. And that was what captured his interest the most. Most women averted their eyes from the men of the Roman army, despite living with them nearby all their lives. They were brought up on tales of the horrors which awaited them if they ever allowed themselves to be alone with a soldier, who had all the baser needs of any man, and yet because of their laws could only indulge themselves out of wedlock._

_His mind was pulled from the past with the entrance of Julius Marcianus, and he boldly declared to him the purpose of his visit. The man was delighted by the news, and it was with joy that Tomasso was given permission to court and marry his lady. He had been right. Julius' only objection had been the marriage law._

…

_Their wedding was six months later and it was glorious. The Gods seemed to bless the union, granting the couple great joy in their first year together, and culminating in a wonderful event as Julianna became with child. She was very well through all the months of child-bearing and now, just twenty-one months after he became a husband, Tomasso waited to become a father. The anticipation was great, both for him and for his father-in-law, who waited with him for news from the midwives._

_Julius was beside himself and confided that he had made a sacrifice every week of the months, and was sure that the Gods would grant Tomasso a son, and him a grandson. He loved Julianna dearly, but sorely wanted a male heir, and he assured his son-in-law that his child would want for nothing while he drew breath and beyond. Tomasso was gratified, but a little worried that his father-in-law would try to take over in all aspects of raising their child._

_Then the air was filled with blood-curdling screaming, not the usual sounds of child-birth, and Tomasso found himself running to the birthing chamber in terror for his wife. He rushed into the room to find her thrashing and gasping for breath. Rushing to her side he took her hand and tried to reassure her, begging the midwives to help her. Despite all best efforts, Julianna's fight for breath was to no avail, and he saw the life leave her body. He cried to her to return to him, but she just laid still and grey, with her eyes gazing unseeing to the ceiling._

_He turned in grief from his wife's body to see his father-in-law standing holding a similarly still, but much smaller body._

" _I don't understand," Julius cried. "Why have the Gods turned on us?"_

" _What happened to the child?" asked Tomasso of the midwives. "And what caused this to happen to my wife?"_

" _The labour was difficult, my Lord, and as it progressed the Lady Julianna seemed to be getting more and more distressed, and finding it hard to breathe. When the child finally came, he was still-born and then my lady became worse and her screams were truly terrible. I can see no reason for this to have happened."_

" _You will be punished!" screamed Julius. "You shall pay for this."_

" _Please, my Lord, there was nothing we could do…" The two women cowered at his feet, and only the dead child in his arms prevented him from lifting his hand to hit them. But Tomasso stayed him and then spoke in a choked voice._

" _It is not their fault. Somehow we have angered the Gods, and all is lost so there is no way we can redeem ourselves. Perhaps they were angered by the change in the law, and I was not destined to marry. I know not how I will go on from this day, but for now I must keep vigil by my Lady. Please send word to my posting of what has occurred and that I will return after the burning."_

_Julius glowered at him, but then nodded and placed the dead child by his mother. He then spared the midwives a scowl and stormed from the room. The women tried to thank Tomasso and express their sorrow to them, but he just ordered them to leave. Alone with his wife and child, he took her chilling hand and laid a kiss to her cold lips. Then with her hand still clasped in his, he screamed out his agony to the Gods._

…

The next morning, Mike did not jerk awake in the early hours, as had been the routine, recently. Instead he was woken by Emma with a smile and a cup of tea.

"I'm so glad the pills are helping, Darling. You must feel so much better for a good rest. It's only seven, so enjoy your tea before you get up. I wanted you to have plenty of time to get ready."

He smiled back up at her. "Thank you." Mike sat in bed, sipping his tea and thoughtfully watching Emma pottering about the room. He did feel more rested, and was glad to see his wife so much more relaxed, but inside his head, his thoughts were churning. He might have appeared to have a restful sleep and have slept until he was awoken, but he still remembered his dream completely. Especially the end, where he had wept for his dead wife; a dead wife who was the image of Emma.

In fact this dream was much clearer than all that had gone before. Actually it had felt more like memory than a dream. Something he had really lived through. A regressed memory? What did that make him think of? Reincarnation! He remembered seeing a film, " _Audrey Rose_ " was it? He needed to find out more about reincarnation, but quietly. His wife was much happier now and he wanted to keep her that way, but he did need to learn more. He couldn't shake the feeling that Emma's very survival depended on him understanding and making sense of his dreams.


	4. Edward and Catherine

* * *

AN: Huge apologies for the delay in the posting of this story. This month I received a promotion at work and for the past month have been doing two jobs while they find a replacement for me in my old job! And on top of working 12 days I've been fighting a hellish cold so all I wanted when I finally got home was to go to bed. I have finally managed to get back to my writing and I hope you feel this chapter was worth the wait.

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou to LadyDunla who completed the beta reading and corrections in quick time so that I could post as soon as possible.

* * *

...

Mike had his chance to do a little research the next day at work during his lunch hour. He had casually mentioned Audrey Rose and reincarnation to his colleagues but none of them had heard of the film or were interested in reincarnation in any way, so he would have to depend on the internet for now. He started by looking up Audrey Rose on IMDB.

* * *

_AUDREY ROSE (1977)_

_113 mins DRAMA | FANTASY | HORROR_

_A stranger attempts to convince a happily married couple that their daughter is actually his daughter reincarnated._

_STARRING Anthony Hopkins / Marsha Mason_

* * *

Well that wasn't very helpful. Maybe just an internet search rather than straight to a site. On Wikipedia he found a far fuller review;-

* * *

_**Audrey Rose** is a 1977 psychological horror and drama film directed by Robert Wise, and starring Marsha Mason, Anthony Hopkins, and Susan Swift. It was based on the novel of the same titleby Frank De Felitta. The plot deals with a young girl who is believed by a man to be a reincarnation of his dead daughter._

_Ivy Templeton (Susan Swift) is a nearly eleven-year-old girl, living with her parents, Janice and Bill Templeton (Marsha Mason and John Beck), in New York. The parents notice a stranger stalking them over the course of a few weeks, and discover, over lunch with him, that his name is Elliot Hoover (Anthony Hopkins), and that he is convinced their daughter is a reincarnation of his daughter Audrey Rose, who died in a fiery car accident, along with his wife, two minutes before Ivy was born._

_Hoover had come to believe this through information given to him by two clairvoyant psychics. Bill asks a friend of his, an attorney, to hide in their apartment to hear Hoovers full story to build a case against him, but when Hoover speaks Audrey's name out loud, Ivy hears him from her room and enters an altered state where she cannot be calmed down without the assistance of Hoover. In this state, she bangs her hands on a window and becomes burned, which Hoover says is a result of his daughter's experience of being burned alive in the car._

_Janice is afraid of Hoover but is also concerned for her daughter, while Bill is hostile to Hoover and demands he stay away. Ivy continues to be disturbed by nightmares, which keep getting worse. Hoover appears at their home during one of her nightmares, and at the request of the mother Hoover is able_   _to calm Ivy down by calling to her as Audrey Rose, but is arrested for allegedly briefly abducting her to his recently rented upstairs apartment._

_The film then moves forward some months to an ongoing trial, where Hoover is attempting to persuade a jury that his actions were necessary to grant his daughter's spirit peace. The trial has become a worldwide phenomenon, with a Hindu holy man giving an explanation of reincarnationas testimony. Hoover testifies in court that after his daughter's death, Hoover had traveled to India and become a believer in reincarnation and Hinduism. Janice comes to believe Hoover's story, and testifies as much, but Bill does not, and has their lawyer request Ivy be hypnotized to show she is not a reincarnation of Audrey Rose. During the hypnosis, Ivy revisits the traumatic car crash as Audrey Rose and dies during the relived trauma._

_The last scene is Janice writing a letter to Hoover thanking him for transporting Ivy/Audrey's ashes to India, and indicating this is with her husband's permission, who she says has started to accept what she and Hoover believe to be true. The movie closes on a quotation from the Bhaqavad-Gita:_

_"There is no end. For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does it ever cease to be. It is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval..."_

* * *

That was more helpful, although it didn't help him to understand why he was dreaming. The quote made Mike think though. From what he had seen in his dreams, Emma and he were destined to come together repeatedly. But did that also mean Emma was destined to always die in childbirth? In this modern world surely they would have found if there was something wrong? He decided to try reincarnation itself next and again got useful information from Wikipedia;-

* * *

 _**Reincarnation** _ _is the religious or philosophical concept that the soul or spirit, after biological_ _death_ _, begins a new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual depending on the moral quality of the previous life's actions. This doctrine is a central tenet of the Indian religions._ _It is also a common belief of various ancient and modern religions such as Spiritism, Theosophy and Eckankar_ _and is found in many tribal societies around the world, in places such as Siberia, West Africa, North America, and Australia._

 _Although the majority of sects within the Abrahamic religions of_ _Judaism, Christianity and Islam_ _do not believe that individuals reincarnate, particular groups within these religions do refer to reincarnation; these groups include the mainstream historical and contemporary followers of_ _Kabbalah, the Cathars, the Druze and the Rosicrcrucians._ _The historical relations between these sects and the beliefs about reincarnation as well as the Indian religions, has been the subject of recent scholarly research._

_In recent decades, many Europeans and North Americans have developed an interest in reincarnation. Contemporary films, books, and popular songs frequently mention reincarnation. In the last decades, academic researchers have begun to explore reincarnation and published reports of children's memories of earlier lives in peer-reviewed journals and books._

* * *

Continuing his research, Mike found a couple more articles including an online interview with a Virginian professor who was researching children's dreams in relation to reincarnation. He told one story of a two year old young boy who had dreamed of dying in a plane crash. He had given his Daddy clear information with names and places indicating that the plane crash was connected with the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Second World War and that the plane was launched from a carrier. He gave his name and also the name of his friend on the ship. His father tried to trace the information, which took him about four to five years, but all the information his little son had given him checked out and appeared to be true. The pilot himself had come from a different state, had died fifty years before and was neither well known nor famous so it was very unlikely this two-year-old happened on the information some way other than through his dreams.

This information was the clearest indicator to Mike that he could be on the right track with his belief that his dreams could be about reincarnation. But it still didn't explain why he kept seeing doubles of Emma dying. He was starting another search, this time following up on the religions mentioned in the Wikipedia article, when he suddenly jumped as he realised his boss was shouting for him. With horror he glanced at his watch and realised he'd been researching for over an hour and a half. He hurriedly pulled up the bio of the computer and started to run a scan as his boss reached his side. He told him this computer had been running very slowly and he was just checking it out.

"Well hurry up! I need you next door to help with installing a couple of new terminals."

"Be right there!" and then Mike smiled with relief as his boss stomped off.

…

Mike had no further chance to check anything out before he returned home that night, and of course he couldn't use his laptop or he would worry Emma again. As they prepared for bed, Emma brought him a drink and his pills. He was reluctant to be pulled once more into the past, but she would get suspicious if he refused to take them, and anyway, he could possibly learn some more information which could help him. So with good grace he smiled brightly at his wife and swallowed them down.

A short while later he felt himself drawn down and down, just as he had the night before. And the he once more inhabited another man, who looked just like him, and he was in another time and another place. And again the archaic Old English was perfectly understandable to him, as were the use for all the strange objects he found himself surrounded by.

…

_Larkin Hall, near Manchester, 1582_

_Edward Gray stood before his father in the great hall of their home and took note of his instructions with regards to his marriage the next day to the Lady Catherine Morain. It was an important match for the family, raising them from mere Gentry to a connection with a powerful Noble family. The fact that it was brought about by his father's wealth and the lack of wealth of Lord Morain's was a blessing to the young man. He would always do his duty to his father, but was overjoyed that his duty had led him to such a delightful union._

_The match had been arranged and he had visited to meet his future bride a week before. He had been hoping that he could at least tolerate her company, but had been overwhelmingly surprised. From the moment he had set eyes on her he had felt instantly drawn to the Lady Catherine. She was undoubtedly beautiful, with glorious long dark hair and vivid green/blue eyes, but it was more than just her looks. She was blessed with a beautiful husky voice, a delightful laugh and a generous and charming nature._

_They had spent a few happy hours walking the gardens of her father's home and getting to know each other. They had many things in common, especially a love of literature and poetry, with Mr Shakespeare's Sonnets being of particular favour to them both. They resolved to visit London as soon after their marriage as they could, to go to the Globe Theatre and see some of his wonderful plays. Plays so good in fact that news and tales of them had reached them even this far north. Perhaps it would even be possible to go to London as part of their wedding tour._

_In short he was enraptured by her and really all his father's instructions about how to properly woo her and keep her happy so that her father would have no reason to disregard the connection and cut them off, were irrelevant as he already loved his lady dearly. And his conversation with her, brief though it had been, indicated that she felt the same. He looked forward to a long and happy life with a lady, although not of his choosing, would have been his choice, if he_ _**had** _ _met her before the marriage agreement had been made. He could already see himself in his dotage, still with her on his arm, as their children and grandchildren milled around them._

…

_A few short months later his world and dreams were ripped apart, as he knelt beside the bed of his Lady after the birth of his stillborn son, holding her cold still hand in his, and crying out his pain to his God. Was he being punished because he, a Catholic, had married a Protestant Lady to secure a position for his family? Because he had converted to her faith to please his new father-in-law? Or because he had smugly delighted in the fact that although the marriage was arranged he could not have found anyone more suited to him?_

_There had been no warning of her impending death. Her confinement had been without trouble until the end, when suddenly she could no longer breathe. He had heard her screaming, but had been barred from her chamber, and told that childbirth was a loud and messy business. By the time they had come to him to tell him his son was dead and his lady in trouble, it was too late. He reached her only to find her eyes unseeing and a grey pall of death over her features._

_He knew he would have to remarry. His duty to his father and his family demanded an heir. As all his siblings were sisters, if he didn't produce one, the line would die with him. All he could hope for was that she would be agreeable. He knew that he would never again find a soulmate to complete him as she had done. So he sat and cried and mourned all he had won and lost in such a short time._

…

The next morning Mike once more sat sipping his tea and observing his wife. The Lady Catherine had died in exactly the same way as the Roman Julianna. More and more he believed these dreams were a warning to him, but didn't know what to do with that fact. Their doctor believed that everything was fine with Emma, and Emma herself had discounted the dreams as well.

But both times the look-a-likes had been perfectly fine before they went into labour. He had to find a way to discover what had killed them, and then find a way to alert Emma without scaring her. Perhaps tonight he would see the time nearest to their own, and that would give him the information he needed.

…


	5. Tom and Sybil

 

_..._

_Downton Abbey, Yorkshire, 1919_

_Tom Branson stood in the garage, reading the paper and daydreaming of the day, pray it be soon, that the woman he loved would give him a positive answer to the marriage proposal that he had made a couple of years before. She had given him reason to hope that she would agree to be his wife when the war was over, but here they were months after the armistice, and still she had not answered him._

_He heard the sound of footsteps approaching and looked up with a smile as he recognised them to be his Sybil's. She entered with a smile of her own, and as usual took his breath away as he saw her. Lady Sybil Crawley was undoubtedly a beautiful woman with a slender yet curvaceous body, long dark hair and dancing green/blue eyes, but there were many beautiful women out there in the world; it was her loving nature, her adventurous spirit, her generous heart and her passionate empathy with all people from all walks of life that made her truly unique and made him love her all the more every time he saw her._

" _You're very late. Won't they worry?"_

" _They're all so excited, they won't care where I am." The news had come down from the house that after months in a wheelchair, with the paralysis necessitating this to last apparently for the rest of his life, the heir to the earldom had stood and walked a few halting steps. The hope was that he would regain the full use of his legs._

" _I'm pleased. I like Mr Matthew."_

" _He announced at dinner that he wants to get married at Downton. Somehow, it made me feel more than ever that the war is really over and it's time to move forward."_

_Tom caught his breath, and asked hopefully, "Do you mean you've made your decision?"_

" _Yes. My answer is that I'm ready to travel and you're my ticket. To get away from this house, away from this life."_

" _Me?"_

_Sybil gazed at him with an exasperated smile. "No. Uncle Tom Cobly," and then she laughed, joyfully. After a stunned moment, Tom joined with her in the laughter. His heart was pounding. Even though he had been praying for this very event, now it happened it seemed unbelievable._

" _I'm sorry. But I've waited so long for those words, I can't believe I'm hearing them. You won't mind burning your bridges?"_

" _Mind? Fetch me the matches."_

_They gazed into each other's eyes with joyous smiles, and Tom found himself heatedly gazing at her lips and leaning towards her involuntarily. Sybil had seen his looks, and returned a heated look of her own._

" _Yes, you can kiss me, but that is all until everything is settled."_

" _For now, God knows, it's enough that I can kiss you."_

_As he captured her lips with his own, he could swear they almost melted into each other, and it was so much better than he had even imagined. He drew her impossibly close to him and explored her luscious lips, and then her mouth, as she opened herself to him. Their tongues battled for dominance and he groaned deep in his throat, wanting so much more, but knowing this was all there was for now. He would never disrespect her to force himself on her in ways she was not yet ready for. He had waited four long years for her, what was a few weeks or months more. They would have a lifetime to get to know each other intimately. For now the knowledge she was going to be his wife, and the freedom to hold her and kiss her as he had wanted to for so long, was enough to stave off the hunger he felt for her._

…

 _That belief that she_ _**would** _ _be his wife was sorely tried as he returned to Downton the day after their ill-fated attempt at elopement. She had promised him that she would still be his wife, but with all her family ranged against her and wearing down her determination would she be finally persuaded to give him up? The first few hours back in the garage were torture, but then suddenly she was there, pulling him quickly to the shadows of the corner of the room, kissing him and promising once more to be his._

_Together they made plans. He told her he had applied for jobs in Ireland as a journalist and that when he heard back they could go there together and be married from his mother's house in Dublin. His mother thought they were very foolish, but she had said if they were determined, then she would welcome Sybil for his sake._

" _It will be better that we have definite plans and that you have a job. Daddy will only look at your ability to support and provide for me. He still sees my Nursing as a game I played in the war. But when we get there and are settled I will find a job at the hospital." He smiled at the determined tone of her voice._

" _I know you will, love. I've never known a harder worker."_

" _I am sorry, Tom. By coming back home to tell my parents in person, I have made us wait so much longer."_

" _No. I was hurting when you left, but you were right I should have had more faith in you. We are doing this the right way now. And, Sybil, I would wait for you forever. You are my life." She brought her hand up to his face and gently stroked it. And then with a slight sob, she leant forward and once more captured his lips in her own._

…

_He stood beside her as they told her parents and was so proud of her he felt like bursting. Despite her father's words, the conviction in Sybil's voice told Tom of her deep commitment to him. Later in the village when Lord Grantham came to his room and tried to buy him off, he felt so totally insulted! But more than that, he ached for Sybil. He had thought that eventually her family would love her enough to put up with him, but after that visit he was not so sure. She really was burning all her bridges for him. And yet he loved her too much to give her up._

_He had sworn to devote every waking minute to her happiness, but he knew now that didn't just mean doing things for her and striving to bring her joy. It could also mean enduring slights to enable her to still see her family and working very hard to prove to them that despite everything he_ _**was** _ _worthy of her._

…

_He stood before the altar in the church in which he had been christened and waited for his bride._

_When Sybil's sisters had arrived for the wedding they had been horrified to learn they were to be married in a Catholic Church, but Sybil, God bless her, had told them that it did not matter. They were to be married before God, and they all worshipped the same one, just in different ways. She said she was not particularly religious so as long as it was a Church she was not concerned. But that Tom and his family were religious and it did matter to them, so that had decided the venue._

_To be truthful, to Tom himself, it had not really mattered very much either. He just wanted to be her husband. However, to his mother it was a very different story, and he rejoiced in the fact that Sybil was ensuring her happiness. The love he felt for his mother, was second only to the adoration he felt for Sybil and he was overjoyed that the two women he held most dear had built a close connection with each other founded on their love for him._

_And now the organ music was swelling and he could feel her approaching. As he sensed her come to stand beside him he turned his head and…._

…

"Mike, Mike! Darling wake up" Mike felt himself dragged away from the mind and body of Tom Branson, as he became conscious of the fact that his wife was shaking his shoulder in agitation. He blinked and then opened his eyes fully to see his wife's worried face.

"What's wrong? Is it the baby?" he started quickly out of bed

"No, Mike. The baby's fine. It's just that I couldn't wake you up. You need to leave in ten minutes. I'll go and make you a fresh tea to drink while you dress. That one's gone cold. The pills must be having a cumulative effect. You'll need to go to bed earlier. But at least you are getting proper sleep."

As he rushed around, quickly rinsing his hand and face, and throwing on his clothes, Mike thought about her words ironically. It might appear to be restful sleep, but only he knew that his nights consisted of inhabiting other men's minds. Still at least his actual body seemed to be getting rest and he was coping much better at work.

He was also learning more and more that could help him. Last night's dreams had been the clearest yet. Fairly recent in time and containing information he could research and investigate. Downton Abbey in Yorkshire. The wedding was taking place in Ireland, but Downton Abbey was certainly a starting point, as they obviously lived there at one point. He hadn't seen a death this time either, but he knew it was to come. He had recognised the voice of this Tom Branson. His was the Irish brogue, begging his wife not to leave him in an earlier dream.

…


	6. Father and Daughter

Mike was feeling invigorated when he got to work that day after the things he had seen the night before. At lunchtime he grabbed a drink and a sandwich and settled down at an empty station. He set his phone alarm for an hour, not wanting to lose track of time again, although he was finding it frustrating to only be able to search an hour a day. He was lucky at first, getting a hit for Downton Abbey straight away.

* * *

 **Downton Abbey**  is a country house in the Jacobian style, with a large park, a dower house and a home farm included. The 2,000-acre (809 ha) estate is in North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, about 4 miles (8.0 km) south of Ripon, North Yorkshire. It is the country seat of the Earl of Grantham, a branch of the Crawley family. Until the end of World War II, the estate was approximately 5,000 acres (2,023 ha) and originally encompassed the nearby village of Downton and a number of tenant farms.

* * *

This quickly led to a search for the Earl of Grantham.

* * *

 **Earl of Grantham**  is a title created by George III in 1772. The current holder is Robert 9th Earl

The title was bestowed first in 1772 in the Peerage of Great Britain for Sir William Crawley. He was a Magistrate and sat as Whig Member of Parliament for North Mean. Their courtesy title is Viscount Downton. He was succeeded in 1809 by his eldest son, the second Earl. The third Earl nearly destroyed the family seat when he came close to going bankrupt due to gambling excesses. The fourth Earl was the complete opposite of his father and turned the family fortunes around with profitable investments. Subsequent Earls were not as shrewd and the family fortunes were again on the decline when they were saved by the lucrative marriage of Robert, the seventh Earl, then Viscount Downton. His bride, Miss Cora Levinson, daughter of Isodore Levinson, a wealthy New York banker restored the family fortunes. A further hit to the family fortune during the fall of the New York Stock Exchange in 1920 was saved by the then heir apparent, Mr. Matthew Crawley when he injected his personal fortune into the estate. Sadly he did not live to see the restoration as he was killed in a car accident on the day his son was born, who then became heir apparent at only a few hours old.

William John, 1st Earl of Grantham (1710 - 1799)

Robert William George, 2nd Earl of Grantham (1732 - 1801)

William John George, 3rd Earl of Grantham (1760 - 1839)

John William George, 4th Earl of Grantham (1793 - 1854)

Robert John William George, 5th Earl of Grantham (1817 - 1891)

George William, 6th Earl of Grantham (1845 - 1909)

Robert David William, 7th Earl of Grantham (1868 - 1943 )

George Matthew John, 8th Earl of Grantham (1921 - 2001)

Matthew Robert Henry George, 9th Earl of Grantham (b.1947)

 

The heir apparent is the present holder's son George Richard Oliver Matthew Robert, Viscount Downton (b.1978)

The family seat of the Crawley, Earls of Grantham is Downton Abbey Estate in North Yorkshire. Their London residence is Grantham House, in St James Square, built in 1849.

* * *

Mike decided to concentrate on the early Twentieth Century, considering the things he had seen. The car, the clothes; and then remembering the conversation about the war being over he looked up World War I and World War II to be surer of dates, because surely it must have been ones of those wars they were talking about. He wished he'd paid more attention in history at school, and then he wouldn't be wasting time looking things like that up!

WWI was from Nineteen Fourteen until Nineteen Eighteen, and WWII was from Nineteen Thirty-Nine until Nineteen Forty-Five. He favoured the first, but really it could have been either, although that didn't matter because the right Earl would be the same; Robert, the seventh Earl, who would have held the title between Nineteen-O-Nine and Nineteen Forty-Three. The Matthew Crawley mentioned would probably be in the right era, but… and then Mike suddenly remembered more of the conversation " _I like Mister Matthew._ " Of course! Now he died in Nineteen Twenty-One, because it said he died the day his son was born, and his son would have been the eight Earl; so it had to be the first World War which had recently ended. So the life of Tom Branson he had seen last night must have between Nineteen Eighteen and Nineteen Twenty-One.

Well there was no mention of a Branson, so what he needed now was a genealogy site, because  _Sybil_  would have been a Crawley, surely. She acted and talked like a lady, not a servant. And now Mike's luck ran out. Site after site he visited and they all required a registration and a payment. He was getting more and more irritated, and then his alarm went off signalling the end of his lunch-hour. He almost lobbed his phone off the desk in frustration, and then taking a deep breath, deliberately calmed himself.

Perhaps tonight he would get more clues, making the search easier, and he would have to continue tomorrow. Maybe he could work out a way to pay a site without Emma knowing, set up a paypal account perhaps, and tell her it was for… what. And now he felt guilty about that because he had never kept anything from Emma before, but he had to keep telling himself, that she would understand in the end and that it was the only way to protect her.

…

When he got home, he told Emma he had been invited to a stag-do the following night with a newbie at the office. He knew they couldn't really afford it, but he wanted to go for a couple of hours at least because the guy was trying really hard to fit in. Emma smiled and said that was just like him, and she would go to her parents for the evening, so the next night at least Mike would be able to go to the Library until it closed at ten and research properly. Again he felt guilty, deceiving Emma, but calmed himself with the thought that the ends justified the means. He had to do this; he was more and more convinced that if he didn't find a way to protect her, Emma would die.

He took his tablets eagerly; anxious to see more that could help him.

…

_Downton Abbey, Yorkshire, 1920_

_Tom Branson stood at the window of the room which held his dead wife, contemplating his future… alone. Tears were pouring down his face and his heart was despairing. He was barred from his home and trapped in a place where he felt totally alien, especially without the steadfast love and comfort of his beloved Sybil. What was to become of him now? The words of Mrs Hughes spoken so many years ago rang clearly in his ears as he thought about the prophetic nature of them…_

" _Be careful, my lad. Or you'll end up with no job and a broken heart."_

 _His new career as a journalist was destroyed, as he could not return to Ireland, without being arrested; and the chances that an_ _**English** _ _newspaper would want to employ an Irish Radical was slim indeed. There was the promise of a job with his brother in Liverpool, but Sybil hadn't wanted that. She saw it as a step backwards, and really she was quite right. Even though she was gone, he still felt a duty to her memory._

 _And the broken heart? Mrs Hughes idea of a broken heart had been that there was no chance for a chauffeur to love and be with a Lady, but although it would have been terrible indeed if he had taken her words in 1916 and left the Abbey, he would at least have been left with fond memories. Now his heart truly was broken; devastated even. Lady Sybil happy and somewhere in the world would have been a bitter sweet thing to visit in his imaginings, but Sybil nowhere in the world and gone for eternity was unthinkable… unbearable… and yet something which he_ _**had** _ _to bear._

_The new child cradled in his arms squirmed and whimpered a little, and he automatically rocked and shushed her. Looking down he suddenly realised that even now, Sybil was trying to ease things for him and cushion the blow. She may be gone, but she had left him with a precious part of herself. He was entrusted with a living, breathing, eternal link to his lost love. Despite himself a small smile broke through his tears as he regarded his tiny daughter_

" _Hello Sybil."_

…

_The memories came thick and fast, swirling together and depicting a lifetime of Sybil Branson, through the eyes of her father. First steps and first words. Playing with her cousin George, and then with more, younger cousins added into the mix. Days spent in school, and in church at Mass. Many, many happy moments spent with her father on concerts and outings and playtimes._

_Tom was a loving father, always with time to spend with her, despite working long hours. He didn't spoil her, she definitely didn't get all she wanted materially, but she always got time. With that he was overwhelmingly generous. He never remarried, but she hardly missed having siblings, with all the time she spent with her Da, and besides she also had her cousins and was especially close to George._

_She looked like her mother, with the same long thick black hair and beautiful face, but her eyes were from him, the same piercing blue he saw in the mirror every day. On her wedding day Tom felt his breath taken again as he looked at her in her wedding day finery, and he was transported for a few moments to another wedding day, in Ireland, long ago._

_All the days they'd had, up to that point, they'd spent together at Downton. And now it had truly become his home. Even after her wedding, when Sybil had gone away to live with her husband and eventually her children, Tom stayed on at Downton. Despite himself he'd grown to love the place, and his job trying to preserve it. He'd even grown to love the Crawley family and earned himself a place within their hearts. Sybil_ _**Crawley** _ _Branson would have been so happy and so proud to know that._

_..._


End file.
